many restaurants, parks, city services, etc. The small town of Ventura sits on the northwestern basin of the lake. It is at the farthest part of the lake from the city of Clear Lake. Bayside is located on a peninsula south of Woodford Island. It used to be home to an amusement park but is now a neighborhood. Dodges Point is another peninsula on the south shore. It has houses on the lakeside and the middle is mostly made up of grass and trees. Buzzards Bay is a bay area set between Dodges Point and Tanglefoot. Most of the bay has a sidewalk running on the lakeside of each house. Tanglefoot is a neighborhood to the west of Buzzards Bay and Dodges Point. It is home to a Girl Scout camp and many houses. The western part is bordered by a large wooded area that connects to Farmers Beach and Lone Tree Point. Bell Harbor is a community located in between Bayside and Dodges Point and is home to a large lawn on the lakeside surrounded by condos and houses. Two other notable communities on the waterfront include The Venetian Village and The Harborage. Both of these sit on man made canals and harbors on the northern shore of the lake. Clear Lake is also home to the historic Surf Ballroom which was where Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens made their last performance on Feb. 3, 1959 before being killed hours later in a tragic plane crash. Often Feb. 3, 1959 is referred to as "The Day the Music Died" as highlighted in the Don McLean hit song "American Pie." External links Clear Lake General Information from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Clear Lake State Park Bodies of water of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa Lakes of Iowa